Block system for railways.



. Patented Sept.-25, |900. B. C. HOWELL.

BLOCK SYSTEM FOR BAILWAYS.

(Application led Feb. 13, 1899.)

4 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

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N0. 658,509. Patented Sept. 25, 190B..

B. C. HOWELL.

BLOCK SYSTEM FOB RAILWAYS.

(Application zileli Feb.' 13, 1899.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

O lcl o No. 658,509. Patented sept. A25, |900. B. C. ROWELL.

BLOCK SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

(Application led Feb. 13, 1899.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheei 3.

L'U 27PM/anim@ Z'L'n/esses:

l5) /Z Wk ony No. 658,509. Patented Sept. 25, |900. B. C. HOWELL.

BLOCK SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

(Application filed Feb. 13,1399.)- (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

NiTnD STATES ArnNT OFFICE.

BENTON C. HOWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ROWELL POTTER SAFETY STOP COMPANY, PORTLAND, MAINE.

v BLOCK SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658.509. dated September 25, 1900.

Application filed February 13, 1899. Serial No. 705,433. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whont it lll/ty concern:

Be it known that I, BENTON C. ROWELL-,of Chicago,Cook county, in the State of Illinois, have invented an Improved Block System for Railways,of which the following is aspecication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fignre l is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan, of a portion of my system.. Fig. 3 is an elevation, and Fig. a a plan, of the other portion of my system. Fig. 5 isa section on line 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 isa detail, and Fig. 7 is a diagram, of my system. Fig. S is an enlarged detail illust-rating the spring-catch connection shown in elevation and plan vin Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail showing the spring-catch out of engagement with the slide. Fig. l0 is a like detail showing the spring-catch in engagement with the slide.

Where a plurality of trains are to travel over a single track, it is highly desirable that the track shall be regarded as if it 'were cut up into lengths or sections and that suitable means oe used to prevent one train (taking a single locomotive or motor-car as a train for all the purposes of a block system) from traveling on any section when another trainis on that section, or, in other words, to block any section occupied by a train against access by any other train, the best result being that as soon as a train enters upon a section that section is blocked and remains blocked until that train has left that section.

My invention is an improved syst-em for effecting this result; and it consists of two blocking appliances, each with an automatic trip for shifting it to danger,7 combined with a mechanism for controlling both blocking appliances which is operated bya passage of' a train after it passes one of the two blocking appliances and before it passes the other of the two and which prevents the second of the two appliances from going to danger, as I will now more fullydescribe by reference to the drawings.

The .safety-stops A Al are so well known by all skilled in this art as to require no detailed description other than that when at danger they automatically stop a train, preferably by applying the brakes; but,as

will be obvious, I include under the termsprings a ct may act through any suitable means when released from control of theirv trips b to stop the train or cause the train to through rod a' on a slide composed of the plates d2, and slide a2 is held from moving under force of spring a by trip-lever b,- bnt when trip-lever b is lifted clearof the notch in slide a2 rod a' is moved endwise by spring a, carrying with it slide a2 and setting stop A (or A) to danger, as will be clear from Figs. 8 to l0. Vhen stop A is at safety, atrain can pass it and enter on the section; but as the train passes over trip B it depresses that end of lever b near the track T, and thereby lifts the other end of lever b clear of the notch in Islide d2, thereby shifting stop A to danger, so that the section is blocked against all following trains. After the train has passed trip B it -actuates the controlling mechanism D D by moving rod d endwise, (in any suitable way, as will be fully understood by all skilled in the art without description,) and that endwise motion of the rod d causes rods D D to move endwise each in a direction opposite to the other, these rods D D' being connected by the compensator D2. This motion of rods D D away from each other causes each rod to move its plate d2 endwise, and the cam-slot in plate d2 acts to move trip-lever b endwise by means of link b2, which is fast at one end to the sliding fulcrum-plate bof lever b and has astubbsprojecting from its other end and entering the cam-slot in plate d2, so that the trip-levers b of both stops A and A are moved clear of track T and out of the Way of the Wheels of the train when rod d is moved endwise in one direction by any suitable mechanism set in operation by the passage. of the train from-stop A toward .65 be stopped. Each spring d exerts its power Y IOO stop A or from stop Awtoward stop A, for one feature of novelty of my apparatus is that it is adapted for trains moving in either direction, the stop A being the main stop and A the auxiliary stop when a train moves from right to left as shown in the drawings and vice versa when a train moves from left to right. This automatic removal of triplever b of stop A' allows the train to pass'over trip B without releasing spring 0L of stop A', which is at safety only when spring a is under control of trip l) and trip b is moved out of the Way of the passing train and all other times at danger, for although when the tread-bars of a safety-stopare down the stop itself is at safety, yet the stop as a whole is at danger when a trip is in position to be released by the passage of a train before reaching the stop, much as a loaded firearm is at danger when at full-cock unless its trigger be locked in some way. After passing stop A and automatically moving trip B of stop A' out of the way the train continues its travel over the section; but that section is blocked by stop A standing at danger, and also by the semaphore or like signal A2, which is set to danger by the endwise motion of one of the rods D or D', as shown on the' drawings. The endwise motion of rod D away from rod D' causes the lug on spring-rod d3 to engage the notch in plate a2 when plate a2 has been moved by spring a, and when rod D is moved toward D by rod d or otherwise the slide a? is moved, thereby compressing spring a and setting signal A to safety, the lug on spring-rod d3 being disengaged from the notch on plate a2 when near the end of its stroke by riding up the inclined plane, thereby leaving plate d2 free to move independently of rod D and under control of lever b and spring a. The lug on spring-rod cl3 is moved in a like manner by rod Dl to set or compress spring a and set signal A to safety All this takes place when the mechanism actuating rod d moves rod d back by means too Well known to all skilled in this art to require description.

Of course when my apparatus is to be used on a section over which trains travel always in the same direction the connections for moving trip-lever b of trip B may be dispensed with; but it is desirable that my apparatus be double-acting. To make it doubleacting it is of course essential that either one of the trips B or B' may be the main trip, just as either one of the stops A or A may be the main stop.

One convenient apparatus for moving rod d endwise, and thereby moving the rods D and D', is shown in my Patent No. 599,456, dated February 22, 1898.

The main feature of my invention is the combination of two blocking appliances, each adapted to be automatically shifted to danger by a train entering upon a section to be blocked, with a controlling mechanism operated by the train which will prevent one of the blocking appliances being shifted to danger by the passage of the train, my purpose being to produce a block system which will block the section whenever it should be blocked if the apparatus is in order and will also block the section whether it should be blocked or not when the apparatus is out of order, and while I have shown the-best mode I have contemplated applying my new principle it will be obvious that the details of construction may be widely varied.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a block system the combination of two blocking appliances, as A A; two automatic trips, as B B; and a controlling mechanism as D D', to prevent the passing train from tripping one of the blockingappliances; substantially as described.

2. In combination two blocking appliances, as A A; two automatic trips, as B B'; two pipe-lines as D D; and connections between the pipe-lines and the blocking appliances; and between the pipe-lines and the trips, by means of which the blocking appliances and the trips are controlled by the pipe-lines; all substantially as described.

3. In combination two blocking appliances each provided with a power-storing device put under tension when its blocking apparatus is set to safety, and which when released gives out its power to shiftA its blocking appliance from safety to danger; two detents, one for one power-storing device, the other for the other power-storing device; means actuated by the passage of a train for releasing the detents, and means also actuated by the passage of the train for inhibiting the release of one of the detents; all so arranged that a train which passes one of the blocking appliances will release its detent, thereby shifting the blocking appliance which it has passed to danger, will then actuate the inhibiting means and thereby pass the other blocking appliance Without releasing its detent.

BENTON O. ROWELL.

Witnesses:

Donn E. FELT, Louis A. DE BERARD.

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